


we complete each other.

by teastainedsweaters



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Breakfast Club Fusion, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, M/M, References to Abuse, References to Depression, Somewhat, loosely based off of the breakfast club, main characters are 98 line !!, should i tag it lmao i guess so, theyre all ex-besties who go through shit :(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 16:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14406216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teastainedsweaters/pseuds/teastainedsweaters
Summary: "i wake up every morning not wanting to be me."alternatively, four friends reunite in detention.





	we complete each other.

on saturday morning, changmin grumpily hopped out of his beat up van and slammed the door closed. he craned his neck, pulling the flannel closer to his body, wind whipping at his exposed skin. changmin turned to the front of the school, almost laughing out of astonishment seeing their very own principal, standing outside the building. he glanced up and down from the watch on his slim wrist to the parking lot where changmin stood.

he rolled his eyes and shuffled to the doors, briefly greeting the principal before ignoring whatever he had to hassle changmin about. he trailed into the library and groaned loudly, seeing no one present. "i'm just gonna have to spend this whole day alone!" he took a deep breath and grudgingly started walking to the back of the room, but halted in his steps as he heard the door open.

"are you fucking kidding me," changmin heard a voice behind him, already gritting his teeth knowing who it belonged to, "i'm gonna have to spend a whole entire day with you?"

changmin deeply sighed before swivelling around on his heels. "oh mr popular, lee juyeon! welcome to detention! what? here because you were caught making out with the third girl you're dating this week?"

"oh shut up, you're probably here because you tried to steal from the principal," scoffed juyeon. glaring at changmin, he aggressively stomped pass, sitting in one of the front row desks. the latter dryly chuckled, mocking his steps as he passed by to sit near the farther desks.

the two sat in silence for quite a while, occupying themselves with the view of books and shelves surrounding them. before changmin could open his mouth to end the awkward atmosphere, the door burst open with a boy tumbling in, making the students jump out of shock. hesitantly, juyeon slightly pushed off his desk, peering over to examine the fallen boy. "uh are you okay? do you need help?" he asked, barely attempting to hold his laughter in.

the male on the ground whipped his head up, not realizing the changmin and juyeon were staring right back at him, concern on their faces. "oh me? well yes—no! i mean no, i-i was trying to say yes i'm okay but i said no to your offer of help, but i meant yes—"

"we get it."

"yes—i-i mean okay." the boy visibly winced, changmin already dreading the next few hours. because of course, it just had to be the exact same two students who were all related to changmin's past, it was just his luck to be spending a whole saturday with them after not speaking for four whole years.

the boy on the floor, well now awkwardly standing up, waddled to adesk and almost stumbled sitting down, nervously clutching and releasing his fists. changmin grimaced, hearing the sounds of the student's chair screeching on the cold tiles, followed by a murmur of apologizes. he directed his view to juyeon and chuckled when he saw the jock slapping his hands over his ears to muffle out the sound.

the boy noticed and gasped, "i-i'm sorry, i should've just picked it up, i didn't know it would make this much of a noise. i won't do it ag—"

"moonie! please i swear to god if another word comes out of your mouth in the next five minutes i'm gonna forcefully shove a duct tape roll down your throat! shut up!"

changmin choked hard watching juyeon angrily call him out. the latter looked over at him and glared, making the younger snicker. still petty as always. he glanced back to kevin, watching him fiddle with his fingers, keeping his gaze down onto his lap. hm, poor kid.

the three students sat in their desks, slowly dozing off due to the gloomy morning. no one really knew what to talk about, let alone none of them talked anymore anyways. when they heard the door handle turning, it snapped them out of their daze once again.

"ah students! welcome to saturday's detention!" the principal cheered, causing kevin to nervously curse under his breath. juyeon stretched his neck and tilted his head to find another student lazily entering the room. changmin snorted out of shock, finding this all coincidental. what were the odds that the last person to show up would be the last person he'd ever want to talk to the earth.

the principal clapped his hands together, frightening kevin. "alright mr. choi, find a seat, make yourself comfortable," he patted the boy on the back which chanhee threw a disgusted face as he sped walked to the tables, "as some of you know, detention ends at three. i'll be taking your phones and bags because today is about the contemplation of your wrong doings, not just some use for free time! so an option is to go ahead and read a book, it's a library!"

changmin failed to keep a laugh in. well obviously it's a library, how long has his guy been a principal for? the students waved him goodbye, clearly uninterested, before watching him walk out the doors and down the hall. when he was out of sight, juyeon cleared his throat before turning around to face the rest of the students.

"if we're going to make any interactions today, we're not talking about what happened when we were younger. deal?"

"i don't even remember anything, deal i guess." chanhee deadpanned. liar. they just nodded, still scared of juyeon's threat of the duct tape.

changmin didn't realize they were staring at him, waiting for his answer until he saw a quick snap in front of his face. "o-oh yeah whatever, i don't really wanna talk to you guys anyways." he blurted out, regretting it after hearing a beat of silence.

"yeah, whatever." someone mumbled.

between the few minutes that passed, kevin stood up and down at least four times, attempting to find a book that piqued his interest. all books being a let down, kevin mumbled, complaining about some minuscule problem like the font size or choice of words. juyeon toyed with the thread on his letterman jacket, clicking his tongue as he watched the thread continue to lengthen till he annoyingly wrapped it around his finger and snapped it off. chanhee was off in his own land, touching up his makeup, most likely stashed in his pocket, while examining his reflection through the plastic, pocket-sized mirror.

changmin shifted in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position. before silence washed over them he propped his legs onto the old beat up desk. no one dared to make the first sound during the next ten minutes.

eventually during the next half hour, kevin was about to burst. he hated silences. he cleared his throat, turning around and swinging his legs over the two sides, straddling the chair. crossing his arms over the back of the seat, he faced changmin. "so why're you here?" he asked, looking bored out of his mind. changmin couldn't care less if kevin was actually interested in what he did, but he decided to tune in anyways. he raised an eyebrow, can't help but wondering why kevin out of all people, was the first one to talk. changmin side eyed the other students, seeing them subtly glancing at the two.

"got caught with weed in my locker, what about you, goodie two shoes?"

kevin gaped, "weed? w-why did you even have it school?" he exclaimed, mouth wide open, changmin chuckling at the sight, "well now you make me look like a loser—"

"you are a loser," juyeon taunted.

"well okay this is why you have no friends." kevin remarked leading to chanhee and changmin immediately snapping their heads towards him with their eyes wide open in amusement. they both resisted the urge to high five him, "well, i got in trouble for running and screaming in the halls," kevin shrugged.

"why were you even doing it in the first place?" chanhee asked as his attention shifted to the conversation.

"well my boy—friend. friend, boy. boy friend, jacob, stole my sheet music and ran around the hallways before slipping into a classroom where he hid from me. the principal only saw and heard me and it wasn't like i was gonna rat jacob out, so here i am."

"wait a minute, jacob? like that canadian one?"

"yes? how many jacobs are there in the school?"

"touché. isn't he apart of the volleyball team?"

kevin scrunched his eyebrows when the words left juyeon's mouth. "yeah, why?"

"nothing it's just...he's popular, and you're..not? i'm surprised you're friends considering we don't talk to any of you guys." juyeon shrugged. chanhee and changmin met eyes and watched kevin shrink under the statement as juyeon looked unfazed, smirking at him.

changmin hated how he said it so casually, knowing kevin was an easy target to pick on. the canadian boy tightened his grip on the cold, plastic chair, straightening his back. "i don't need to be popular. i heard being popular actually tends to be less beneficial, things like losing close friends, changing yourself to be someone you're not, constantly worrying about your image—"

chanhee cleared his throat, stopping kevin before he could ramble on further. they knew this was apart of their agreement to not talk about their past. he sighed, folding his hands into his lap, "look, if we could all just have one simple conversation without arguing then we'll get through the day just fine." he reasoned.

changmin snickered, "okay then, let's start off with this. how'd you get here, princess?" he smugly smiled, resting his chin against his palm seeing the temptation of a growl resisting on chanhee's face.

"swore out a teacher, nothing new. how did mr. popular get in trouble? i thought he was everyone's favourite student?" chanhee cooed, slightly pushing juyeon's back to gain his attention.

"changmin already guessed it, got caught with someone in the halls."

kevin scoffed. "when are you not with someone? i swear every time i see you in the halls you're always sucking faces with a girl, it's disgusting."

"at least i actually get action."

"at least i'm not running away from my commitment issues—"

"okay shut up you two, i swear we can't through one, just one, conversation without you guys having the urge to rip each other's throats out! either get along or just sit in silence!"

the two boys guiltily rolled their eyes at chanhee. obviously they knew he was right but they were all too stubborn to actually admit it out loud. the boys silently chose the latter, letting the room quiet down with the occasional shuffling.

with nothing to do, changmin slipped into a daydream. his eyes mindlessly travelled towards the other students, wondering how much of a coincidence they all got put in the same detention, exactly the four of them, no less, no more.

changmin found juyeon sneering at kevin, ironic, when it would be possibly the worst thing juyeon could think of doing to him in the past. they all used to get along just fine in middle school despite their different personalities and constant quarrelling.

their friendship broke apart one by one as if someone gave up on a puzzle, itching to be finished. the pain of the drift came from the long span of time that passed. unlike a breakup over the summer break, their bond slowly disappeared after failing and eventually getting tired of trying to find the last piece for game.

"earth to changmin?? hello? jeez, and i thought he was done with that whole dazed thing where he gets too caught up in his thoughts."

the others snickered, regaining consciousness within changmin. "sorry, were you asking me something?" he muttered, looking up at juyeon.

"yeah, i was asking if you wanted something to eat."

"eat? how are we gonna get outta here?"

"i'll get hyunjae hyung to deliver it to us, no big deal, principal didn't take my phone. by the time he actually gets out of bed, which is like 10 at the latest, picks up and delivers the pizza here it would be around lunch time."

changmin scoffed and tilted his head up, pointing his chin at the other two students. "how do these two feel about this? can't break rules right?"

chanhee and kevin rolled their eyes and huffed. "just order it, i don't wanna starve to death," the latter mumbled. juyeon sighed in glee before whipping out his phone to message hyunjae.

"what did you guys want? i was thinking pizza?"

kevin snorted, "pizza really? what are we back in middle school?" the four boys froze and eyed kevin, "sorry i—it just slipped out."

juyeon pursed his lips and continued typing away, "i'll just order like two cheeses and two pepperonis."

the rest nodded in agreement and went back to what they were previously doing.

-

the sound of a knock woke changmin up. how long has he been sleeping? he rubbed his eyes and glanced around to see hyunjae tapping on the window, making changmin nearly scream. he tripped out of his chair, grabbing the desk to catch his fall. it didn't give him justice as the desk also came down with him, squishing his legs to the floor. "holy shit!" kevin yelled, snorting out of laughter.

juyeon peered back to see the fallen boy and glanced over to see hyunjae stumbling over his own feet trying to catch his breath. he squinted his eyes and and motioned the elder to run through the back school entrance near the library. chanhee protested, "are you crazy? is he just gonna waltz in here giving us a four whole pizzas? someone's gotta go out there."

the three boys raced to place their fingers on their nose. containing their laughter, they watched as chanhee's face fall into a scowl. "i hate you all. if i get caught i'm blaming all of you! especially you, ji." he stood up from his seat and stomped to the library doors.

changmin whined, "what did i do?!"

"fuck you that's what!" he growled back, raising his middle finger over his shoulder before gently pushing the doors open. chanhee exhaled shakily, hearing a faint "good luck!" as the squeaky doors closed. speed walking, he stealthily looked around corners, covering his open mouth when he saw the principal sleeping in his office. he sighed in relaxation.

he quickly jogged to the back doors and smiled brightly seeing hyunjae. "hyung!" he called out. the elder turned around and returned the greeting with a confusion expression, "oh, chanhee? why're you here?"

"long story for another day! juyeon will pay you back later for the pizza and i gotta run but it was nice seeing you again!"

hyunjae nodded and gave a thumbs up, excitedly handing the pizzas over. "good luck with changmin!" chanhee choked, getting caught off guard. "i-excuse me?"

"you and changmin, you like him right?"

"i-well—no it's nothing anymore. sorry hyung, i need to get going, " he hurriedly whispered, door already half closed. he gripped the pizza boxes in his hand, shaking the thoughts out of his head. _no, just leave it, don't think too much,_  he thought, clearing his throat more necessary than usual.

chanhee shook his head and practically sprinted down the halls to the library, suppressing his thoughts and moving them to the back of his head. he entered the room and dropped the boxes onto the large table. chanhee wiped his sweaty palms onto his black jeans, nervously walking back to his own desk, fiddling with his own fingers. he heard juyeon giggle in excitement, already opening the boxes to share out pieces.

he rubbed his eyes with the balls of his palm as he rested his elbows onto the worn out table. he couldn't blame hyunjae for bringing up the past topic. the last time they actually had a full, lengthy conversation was four years ago when chanhee confessed he liked a boy. hyunjae got busy and they only got to talk occasionally following that year.

"chanhee? you okay?" he heard a light voice beside him and a soft hand on his shoulder. kevin. "did you get caught by the principal or something?"

"oh uh no, it's nothing, i'm just not hungry, that's all."

"oh alright, tell me if you are so i can save a few pieces for you!"

chanhee smiled warmly at him and nodded. kevin was always the least problematic out of the group. he did almost everything the boys could've asked for, holding the most selfless title. hell, even him getting in detention was due to him being selfless, not wanting his boyfriend to get in trouble. kevin was always the most caring, helping the boys when they were sick or absent.

the year the friend group broke off was the year everyone knew kevin truly felt how hard loneliness struck. the three boys drifted away into doing other things, perusing new friend groups, completely leaving their past behind as if it didn't exist in the first place.

"choi, get over here!"

chanhee raised his head to look around the room, hearing the booming voice from over his head. he glanced up at the second level of books and shelves, spotting the spread out pizza boxes and boys sitting in a triangle on the tiled floor, watching down on him in anticipation. "what are you guys doing? if the principal catches us out of our desks—"

"we'll deal with that later, just come!"

chanhee mumbled incoherent words and dragged himself to walk up the stairs. he dropped himself next to changmin as the group scooted and shifted slightly, making room for the newcomer. "so? what do you want?" chanhee asked. kevin innocently glanced at them, shrugging as he did so.

"let's play truth or dare," changmin suggested, "it'll pass time and it's fun! wait, how about just truth. truth...or truth. you have to give your full honest answer, no backing out."

"huh, what if it's too personal?"

"too personal? juyeon we all grew up together and i doubt any of you will start talking again on monday. there's nothing holding us back except your doubt. so, who's first?" he gleefully cheered, taking another bite out of his pizza. juyeon reluctantly raised his hand, ignoring the kevin's protest and pointed at chanhee. "truth or truth?"

"well what option do i have?"

"don't be a jackass, truth or truth?" juyeon asked. chanhee stayed silent staring at him, "can you stop fucking staring at me and choose?"

"they're the same option!"

"WELL I STILL NEED TO KNOW—"

"JUST ASK THE FUCKING QUESTION."

kevin groaned loudly and reached over the boxes to flick both of them on the foreheads. "truth or truth is dumb! let's just play truth or dare. clearly juyeon is too dense to realize something simple."

the latter flipped kevin off and reverted his attention back to the brunette. he evilly smiled at the boys and leant back. "okay then, chanhee, truth or dare?"

-

the game kept going, far past the time their pizza boxes were empty with nothing left but stains of grease. the dares varied from balancing chairs on kevin's head to changmin downing a whole tin of mints, almost choking as he saw juyeon pull out another pack. (thankfully he only had to down the first tin.) the truths were childish, exposing past hookups and their rankings in school.

kevin's eyes were slowly fluttering close and back open, feeling changmin's soft gaze on him. he felt a tap on his knee with the tip of a worn out converse, "kevin, truth or dare?" changmin questioned, smiling lightly seeing kevin bounce up as if he wasn't just falling asleep.

"mmm truth?"

"that's the seventh time he's chosen—"

"juyeon i will literally make you lick the dusty shelves if you keep talking," chanhee interrupted. he turned to the two boys and nodded, signifying to move on.

"well, um anyways back to kevin, let me think."

changmin bit his lip, pondering on what question to ask the male. the game was getting less interesting by the minute, especially when they chose truth. looked over questions were asked, making them all groan or want to nap. he shrugged, letting the game go on with another useless question so he could think of something better for his next round. "what do you wanna be when you grow up?"

kevin tensed, instinctively tugging at his sleeves. he chuckled lightly hearing the protests of chanhee and juyeon, calling changmin unoriginal for the choice of question. "i wanna make music and perform as an artist, maybe even in a band."

the boys went silent hearing kevin's dream. they tilted their heads, leaning in as their interest gained. "you already play so many instruments, why d'you look so bummed?"

kevin closed his eyes and dropped his head till his chin reached his chest. "my mom doesn't believe in that type of music. i'm only allowed to play instruments if they're for recitals or those bullshit elite competitions. otherwise, she wants me to be a lawyer or something."

"but you're in the school choir, if universities scout you, would you be able to go?"

"it would take a hell lot of convincing and i'd only get accepted for piano. piano! i don't wanna play piano for an orchestra, or—or be limited to the genres of music my mom wants me to play for the rest of my life! i don't wanna see my audience staring at me expecting me to hit every single right note, judging me with their cold stares, i want to be on stage in front of screaming fans experiencing the most exciting time of their life with me! what's the point of my future if i'm not the one happy? why is it always my mom's decision to choose what's right for me?"

the three shocked boys watched kevin's tears fall into the balls of his hands, furiously wiping it away with the thick fabric of his sweater. changmin hesitantly reached his hand out to pull kevin into a small hug. they watched him lean in closer to changmin's body, loud cries turning into sniffles. kevin let his hands fall into his lap, squeezing his eyes shut.

"jacob, the one we were talking about earlier, told me he'll find a way. he's been saying that for four straight years but it's our last year to make decisions, we have no idea as to where we're going to go and we're both in the same situation. his parents expect him to accept a volleyball scholarship to a promising university, but he wants to persuade music with me. i just, i don't know what to do anymore. i want to play music with him, but the world seems to try it's best to break us apart and our futures."

kevin and jacob were basically glued to the hip. after kevin's friends strayed away from him, he met jacob at a local coffee shop where people got to perform and entertain the customers. kevin often wanted to perform in front of everyone, but the repetitive rejection from his mother rang through his head like blaring sirens.

one day during the evening show kevin usually attended, there was a new guy. the town kevin lived in was small, thus the same people went up and kevin got used to them, strongly urging the baristas to post more flyers around the town for new, fresh entertainers, but they wouldn't listen to the little fourteen year old customer.

seeing the handsome male made kevin swoon like a little five year old boy. the hearts in his eyes practically jumped out just seeing the boy's face. kevin felt like jello, basking in the performance, hearing his soft, smooth voice ringing through the cafe.

when he stepped down from the stage, kevin immediately got up to talk to him, covering it up as a nonchalant walk to his table. he greeted himself in the most confident voice he could muster, "hi, i'm kevin!" (his voice cracked but if they both noticed, they didn't make much note of it.)

"oh, hi! i'm jacob," he smiled, stretching out his delicate, slim arm for a handshake. kevin was already in love. he awkwardly took the hand and accepted the gesture, smiling brightly, still in shock that he was talking to an angel. "so, kevin, why'd you come over?" jacob asked as they held hands, still slowly shaking.

"w-well you're beautiful— wait no sorry, um i mean your voice is beautiful! well i'm not saying _you're_ not beautiful, because you are! i just—"

jacob chuckled, letting their hands lightly drop onto the table. kevin face palmed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "i-i'm sorry, i just get nervous talking to cute boys."

"so you get nervous talking to yourself?"

what. did kevin hear that properly? was jacob actually interested in him? holy shit! did jacob just call him cute? his face burned up, staining red as he choked on his words.

the night flew by quickly, air was filled of laughter and fogged with red from the blush on their cheeks. the boys found out they were both from canada, jacob recently moving here. their conversation quickly transferred to english, feeling more comfortable. nights of long talks and jacob's singing turned into weeks, which turned into months, which turned into years.

kevin pushed away his affectionate feelings for jacob as years went by. he knew jacob flirted with him when they first met but they were fourteen! prime age of confused sexuality, even for kevin.

he wanted to talk to chanhee about his feelings, he knew he'd understand, he always did. kevin didn't know why chanhee blocked him off and separated from them, he just thought he needed some time for a bit. he realized it wasn't just a break when juyeon and changmin broke off their friendship a few months down the road.

three years later on the last day of summer, they sat in the same cafe and instead of having a long talk about nothing, they were preparing. "remember, we switched the octaves, don't forget!" jacob reminded.

"you think i'd forget? babe, how long have we been practicing this?"

jacob stuck his tongue out playfully, adjusting the strings on his guitar. "just in case, i know you might get nervous, this _is_  your first performance—"

"this is not! it's my second one actually so there's a big difference."

"oh yeah whoops sorry, didn't mean to hurt your feelings!" jacob joked, placing a hand on his chest, squeezing his eyes shut as kevin rolled his eyes.

after a few minutes of comfortable silence, they were called up to the stage by one of the hosts. an encouraging good luck! was given to the boys before they introduced themselves to the big crowd. "hellooo, um this is kevin," jacob awkwardly gestured to his boyfriend next to him, unnoticeably uncomfortably slouching, "and i'm jacob! we're going to be covering thinking out loud by ed sheeran, enjoy!"

the couple met eyes as the spotlight moved towards them. jacob smiled reassuringly and started the song.

the stares they held throughout the performance made kevin's heart beat faster, making him afraid it was loud enough to overpower his voice. the crowd roared with excitement after the duo finished. they warmly smiled at each other and hopped off the stage, thanking people for their kind support.

when they packed their belongings and headed out the door, jacob intertwined his hand with kevin's, staring off into the brightly lit street. "you know, we can always do these kinda of things, like perform at small gigs. you're already aware that both our parents don't want us to pursue careers in music, but that's not stopping us from performing at cafes or things like that. we can still do it."

"you've been saying that for a while."

"and i'll keep saying it until we're both completely happy with our futures," jacob stopped to place a small kiss on kevin's forehead, "i'l find a way."

shaking the thought out of his head, kevin cleared his throat, fanning his teary eyes with his hands. "okay well enough of my dilemma, let's get back to the game." he smiled, already dismissing the past topic. changmin didn't want to leave the subject, he wanted to know more about kevin, more about his relationship with this guy. were they not dating anymore? why was kevin now denying their relationship? he wanted to know what kevin planned to do to fix everything, he wanted to know he'd be okay.

the former peered at the three boys avoiding his gaze. "juyeon, truth or dare?"

juyeon whined, "truth—and i'm only choosing truth because i don't wanna lick a dusty shelf!"

kevin scoffed, leaning his weight back on his outstretched arms behind him. "okay well since i already talked about my misery, let's talk about yours, mr. perfect," he smirked. juyeon shrugged, expecting some stupid question about his popularity status. "why do you hook up with so many girls? i know you started back in junior but this year you've been like the resident fuckboy of the school, reason?"

"what, is that a problem? girls know i'm not in it to date, it's their fault if they get heartbroken."

chanhee perked up before kevin could speak, "are you sure it's _them_ wondering if they're going to get heartbroken?"

juyeon shifted uncomfortably in his spot, hiding it with a cold chuckle. his eyes darted around to the boys intently staring at him with curiosity. "what are you even— no that doesn't even make sense." he denied, playing with the rips in his jeans.

"you're uncomfortable."

" _you're_ making me uncomfortable," juyeon annoyingly huffed, attempting to avoid all possible eye contact. he cleared his throat and sat up straight, "i just like the feeling i guess? god this is getting awkward, changmin, truth or da—"

"how would your boyfriend feel about this?" changmin asked.

juyeon practically choked. "b-boyfriend? what—who said i had a boyfriend?"

"do you not? you're always making these heart eyes at that one junior in our dance. what's his name, wall? hwall? something like that right? the quiet one that skipped a grade?"

"i'm not—we're not dating."

"well certainly you're _something_. with the soft looks you guys give each other i find it hard to believe you guys are just friends." chanhee chuckled as juyeon's shoulder's sagged before falling onto his back and grumbled something incoherent under his breath. he vigorously rubbed his face with his cold hands and swept his hair back in frustration.

hwall and juyeon weren't  _dating_ , per say. in the middle of his junior year, he met hwall. they've met previously in dance club, but juyeon was too swarmed with university applications and performances, he didn't have time to stop and smell the flowers. when it was his scheduled practice time he booked, juyeon walked into the practice room meeting the sight of hwall stretching on the barre they had in the corner of their room. juyeon scrunched his nose in confusion hearing some western indie artist on the loud speakers, finding it odd considering hwall was most likely here to dance to anything but that song. he attempted to speak up so the younger could pause the music and pack up, but words got caught in his throat the longer he watched the boy.

"hello?"

juyeon's head jerked up and found hwall staring right at him. "oh hey! uh i have the space booked for a few hours—"

"no you don't?"

"w-what?" juyeon stuttered, "kid, i do. three pm on friday, now if you would please leave, that would be great."

the boy jogged to the calendar on the wall and pushed it into juyeon's face. "three pm, hwall. me." he flipped to the next page full of signatures and time stamps, "three am, juyeon. you, i'm assuming."

shit. juyeon really just accidentally scheduled for three in the morning? his head dropped in embarrassment before turning around and quickly fleeting the studio.

as he walked back to the bus stop, juyeon smacked his forehead, knowing he made an assumption on the kid so quickly, causing his attitude to be shitty towards him. well, he'll have to apologize the next time he sees him.

later that day juyeon packed his loose papers and textbooks into his backpack. completely starting from scratch and bullshitting an essay was not on his schedule for a saturday morning. he groaned loudly, ignoring the amount of texts by his friends  chatting about a huge party taking place across town. due to his teacher being a complete douche and an unfair marker, juyeon decided to hand his work in earlier to ensure he got extra marks, so he reluctantly gave up going to (possibly now) one of the best parties of the year.

feeling frustrated over his stupid project, juyeon shut his laptop and turned his notifications off. 2:50 am. he aggressively grasped his duffle bag and headed for the door, grimacing as he realized he was still dressed in his dance clothes. to release his stress and relax, juyeon decided to head to the dance studio making use of his mistakingly scheduled practice time.

he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he boarded and exited the empty bus to his destination. once he reached, he immediately ran to the building, not wanting to make eye contact with any stranger out at the time.

stopping in his tracks, juyeon squinted his eyes as he saw the bright light emitting from the studio. did he mistake his time again? he pushed the door open lightly, peeking in slowly.

_hwall._

"kid?"

hwall spun around and locked eyes with juyeon. he huffed and panted, all face all dusted in rose. "stupid?"

"i- hey don't call me stupid, it was a mistake!" juyeon protested. the boy smiled brightly, shaking the sweat out of his hair. juyeon watched as he rushed to switch off the music and collect his belongings. "hey wait— you're just going to go outside now? it might be dangerous out there at this time."

"you were just out, weren't you?"

"i'm older, aren't i?"

"touché, and i wasn't heading out by myself, i'm waiting for my sister to pick me up."

juyeon took a hold of hwall's shoulders and gently tugged him to sit by the windows. "well stay inside until she comes, just look out the window for her or something," he insisted. the younger just nodded and leant his back against the wall as he watched juyeon stretch, "wait so um— hwall? did i get that right? okay cool so um were you here this whole entire time?"

"pretty much."

juyeon choked, "you were here for twelve hours? did you eat anything? you haven't rested? have you—"

"stupid, i'm okay. i ate snacks in my bag and got like a whole ten hours of rest prior to my practice."

"SNACKS?" he yelled, completely ignoring the second bit, "okay look after i do a couple routines, i'm taking you out for breakfast to get a real meal, tell your sister she doesn't need to come."

hwall scoffed, folding his arms across his chest, "don't you have better things to do than take a tenth grader out for breakfast on a saturday morning? like, i don't know, going to a house party to hook up with girls and get wasted or something?"

the elder raised his eyebrows in amusement. "says the one who stayed here for twelve hours?"

"touché." ("you say touché a lot." "it's a habit.") juyeon shook his head, laughing as he searched for music for his warm ups. the two fell into a comfortable silence before hwall spoke up, "i don't really do anything on friday nights. i- ugh this is so lame never mind, just continue with whatever you're doing."

"hey, you started the sentence, you need to finish it."

"it's just, well, i don't have much friends, a-and i usually just stay in on friday's. no one books friday for some reason, so i come straight to the dance studio from school and dance until i see the sunrise." hwall shrugged, "so its pretty shocking to hear that you're not at sangyeon's monthly house parties, but instead here. i didn't actually think you'd come at three am."

a feeling of interest washed over juyeon as if something was tugging at his chest. he often didn't pay attention to people that nag or judge him as the typical party, popular kid, but surprisingly, hwall was a exception.

after approximately two hours of loud music and their laughter echoing through the walls, juyeon and hwall finally set out to visit their local breakfast diner. they settled down in their seats and opened their menus, taking their time to order.

"i'll take a plate of blueberry pancakes and a cup of tea, thank you." hwall softly ordered. juyeon smiled warmly at him and ordered his food.

"i wouldn't take you as the blueberry kind."

"thank you?"

juyeon chuckled and rested his head onto his palm. "so hwall—"

"hyunjoon. just call me hyunjoon, it's my real name."

"okay, hyunjoon. your dancing is amazing, i've seen you during practice. you have anything choreographed now?"

"...something like that."

the newfound friends stayed up talking and strolling around the streets until sunrise. juyeon embarrassingly admitted he'd never felt a closer connection to someone before, he even opened up about most of his problems and listened to hyunjoon's troubles.

throughout the year, hyunjoon and juyeon subtly smiled at each other in the halls and hung out in the early mornings where no one could disrupt them. they talked about nothing and everything, always interested in each other's thoughts.

juyeon learnt to realize hyunjoon was more than what people thought. he was loud, trustworthy, had a positive outlook, sometimes smiled so hard you'd think his eyes had disappeared. juyeon stayed awake at night in his bed thinking of what kept hyunjoon happy, taking mental notes so he'd see the smile all day.

lee juyeon realized how hard he was falling for heo hyunjoon. but he couldn't. it was cliche and he was scared. it would ruin his popularity, his friends wouldn't even look at him anymore and there'd a high possibility he'd be kicked off the team, probably by getting voted off by his teammates.

the nights spent thinking of the boy and his happiness turned into the days of avoiding and acting as if he didn't exist.

juyeon needed to keep his priority of sports and popularity on his mind. he _needed_ to be relevant during high school, it was a set in stone rule he told himself. if he messed this up now then his senior year would be a total disaster, completely ruining his high school days. juyeon didn't expect nor want this kid to come into his life and completely occupy juyeon's thoughts 24/7. he needed to get his mind off of hyunjoon.

the month before school ended, there was another party. continuing his plan to get hyunjoon off his mind, juyeon decided he needed to go and forget about him completely knowing hyunjoon wouldn't go to these kinds of things.

before he knew it, juyeon drank one too many shots, had a dance off with this senior he couldn't decipher the face of and ended up being dragged to one of the bedrooms.

the only thing clouding his mind was the thought of hyunjoon. no matter how many drinks he downed or the girls he flirted with, the lingering thought of just hyunjoon himself never disappeared.

as he sat on the soft bed with an unknown girl on his lap, he let himself be free, not realizing he was just thinking of _him_. the small giggles erupting from her lips as she kissed down the side of juyeon's face till it reached his mouth, he tried to ignore the feeling of kissing hyunjoon so much that it made his lips swollen.

juyeon kissed the girl passionately, alcohol taking over his mind as he pretended it was hyunjoon in front of him. the hands delicately holding her waist, rubbing his fingers over the spot where hyunjoon was ticklish. he felt hands in his hair, hoping it was him who was running his hands through it after an exhausting dance practice. the door burst open and the two looked up, knocking juyeon out of his gaze. he wanted hyunjoon to be here in his arms, not seeing someone else in them.

"i-i'm sorry, i was trying to find my jacket, um carry on i guess."

"hyun—"

the door slammed shut, footsteps echoing down the hall. the girl turned back to him and shrugged, immediately going back in to capture juyeon's lips. he let the girl sloppily attempt to kiss him again before he halfheartedly apologized through the one sided kiss, quickly pulling her off to eagerly run through the halls.

he frantically looked around, searching for the boy. fortunately, he spotted him walking down the steps outside the door, ignoring the curious looks of the other students. "HYUNJOON!"

hyunjoon continued to walk along the stoned path, ignoring the shouts. "hyunjoon, please, can you just hear me out!" juyeon desperately called out, gently grasping a hand on the former's wrist to which he ripped out of his hold.

"don't talk to me."

"please, look it was all a misunderstanding!"

hyunjoon spun around, now darting a finger at juyeon's chest, glaring as if looks could kill. "a misunderstanding? for what, three months? you can't just ignore and completely cut me off without saying anything until you decide you want me back into your life. you can't delete or block me from everything just because you felt like it, you can't make me fall in love with you for some cruel joke just to go and hook up with other people!"

with wide eyes, juyeon stared down at hyunjoon, watching him repeatedly punch his chest, tears running down his cheeks. "i tried _so_  hard to not be just one of your little flings. i wanted to fall in love knowing you'd finally settle down. for _me_. it's selfish and i know it but i just thought that maybe, just maybe i'd be special. now i know, i realized that i'm not anything special to you, i was just someone wrenching into your life, completely unwanted. i'm naive, i know, i'm sorry."

hyunjoon pushed off from juyeon, stumbling back onto the sidewalk. he looked up into his eyes, smiling sadly before reluctantly running off, not turning back once.

tears filled juyeon's eyes, shaking his head to exit his daze.

changmin swallowed loudly as he peered down to his feet, knowing juyeon didn't want anyone to see him break down.

"till this day i still beat myself up over the fact that i should've went after him. i should've pulled him back and hugged him, reassuring that i need him, that he was my only source of happiness, that—" juyeon paused, running his hands through his hair, "that i loved him."

soft crying was heard from the right of changmin, curtesy of kevin. he glanced over to chanhee who was staring up at the ceiling, fanning his red eyes.

"so now you know. is that what you guys wanted to hear so badly? how i'm a complete fuck up? why i have commitment issues?"

"juyeon, stop—"

"no! no tell me how shitty i am, tell me how hard it was being my friend, how i can't accept liking guys, just like i couldn't handle chanhee being gay!"

chanhee's breath hitched as the room went silent. juyeon raised his head, seeing the boys staring at him with shock. he closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. "i'm sorry, i shouldn't have."

"it's fine, i was expecting it to come up eventually."

the boys didn't speak a word for the next minute or so, everyone trying to take everything in. chanhee broke the silence, "so, who's next? we all know juyeon doesn't like when he cries, let's move the attention."

"well, it's your turn. truth or dare?"

"truth, we're all opening up anyways."

the boys looked around to each other before asking chanhee, "why did you close everyone off back in middle school?"

during the first year of middle school chanhee wanted to wear makeup. he looked up to his older brother's girlfriend, sooyoung, and her skills in the art. chanhee found it absolutely beautiful what artists could do with a small platform.

the first time he asked his parents to buy makeup like the women had on tv, they confronted him, telling him that boys shouldn't be dealing with that type of stuff. feeling rejected and guilty, chanhee swore to never ask for something "feminine" again. he cried himself to sleep for three straight days, blocking out the other three boys. he told himself he was acting selfish, disobeying his parents and crying over something he couldn't buy.

after the incident, the first person chanhee complained to was changmin. he expressed his anger through harsh, heated tears as changmin's worry intensified. before school started back from the weekend, changmin and chanhee went out and secretly bought tons of cheap drugstore makeup for him using the latter's allowance. they both didn't notice the school was makeup banned, only realizing after chanhee was scolded by a teacher for wearing mascara, some lip gloss and concealer to hide his little moles. a call to his parents was made that night and for the second time, chanhee blocked off any interaction for a whole week.

his parents sat him down and had a whole afternoon just reasoning with chanhee and his actions. "it's a phase," his dad complained, "boys can't do things like this. chanhee, are you ill?" ill. ill was the one word that still stuck with chanhee throughout the years. his very own father thought he was _ill_ for wanting to wear makeup.

after a few months of wearing makeup behind his parents and teachers back, chanhee was chatting to his mom as he waited for his dad to come out of the shower. "sooyoung was wearing a really cute outfit today," he admitted, spinning in a swivel desk chair. his mom turned to him and smiled tenderly, taking her hand in chanhee's. "are you interested in this type of fashion? don't get influenced by her so much, chanhee. this might end up something like the makeup."

"but i want to wear things just like you! i—i wanna wear skirts and the style of outfits you or sooyoung always wear! they're so pretty and i...i want to feel pretty."

his mom tilted chanhee's chin up, wiping the tears on the boy's face, "chanhee, you're beautiful already. how about we go out shopping one day and buy you a skirt? your father will kill both of us if he found out, but we won't tell him. when you get older and move out, you can do anything you want and we won't stop you."

with a bright smile, chanhee cheered and hugged his mom tightly. "thank you for accepting me."

sadly, his mom, his brother and sooyoung were possibly the only three who accepted chanhee for who he was. the next year he wanted to make a difference on his appearance and found the confidence to. he showed up on the first day wearing a skirt and thin long sleeved shirt. he felt pretty.

another phone call home. another scolding from his father. another night of crying. chanhee never wanted to learn from his mistakes, he wanted to keep doing what he loved, was it that hard to achieve?

few months later, a car crashed into the car chanhee and his mom were in. the collision came from his mom's side, chanhee being minorly injured but critically injuring the woman. though he had survived, the coma she had been in for approximately two years were more stressful than it had been if she hadn't lived. the family felt as if knowing she was alive and not being able to communicate at all was worse than knowing she would be in a more peaceful place. they put her down, much to chanhee's distress.

as if chanhee just blinked, he was left with no one by his side. his three friends started to avoid him consistently as he grew more interested in "feminine" aesthetics. the group of friends thought people would think that they were gay. and what every childish middle schooler would do, they fled from him. his brother moved to his apartment with his girlfriend, leaving chanhee in the house with no one but his father. they both despised each other, his father constantly blaming him for his wife's death.

chanhee didn't know a trip to the shopping mall to buy dresses was going to turn out the way it did. it wasn't his fault, yet the pressure from his father made it seem like it was. chanhee's childhood had been washed away, the only thing returning to shore would be the blame.

high school caught up to him and chanhee stopped using his concealer to hide his tiny moles, but to start hiding the bruises blooming on his body.

"let's just move on, i don't wanna talk about it anymore."

"chanhee i didn't—"

"i know you didn't know, i didn't intend on telling anyone anyways, it's fine, let's just move on already."

juyeon took a shaky breath, trying not to eye how chanhee unconsciously pulled his legs to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "well it's changmin's turn, i'm assuming we're all gonna talk about our problems so anyone got a question for him?"

"oh no, i'm choosing dare. i'm not saying my cheesy depressed backstory, just dare me to streak down the halls or something."

kevin snickered as juyeon and him made eye contact. "we dare you to share a mint with chanhee." ("another one?" "shut up pizza breath.")

"share a mint? that's dumb as fuck who even thinks of that?" chanhee scoffed. kevin smacked him on the shoulder and clicked his tongue, pointing a finger at him. "let me finish why don't you?" he remarked.

"as i was saying, share a mint with changmin, using only your mouths."

all three boys' eyes widened. "w-with my mouth?" changmin stuttered.

"you heard me, you both cant let go until the mint is dissolved. all your dares have been shitty so far, as far as i know you two are the only single ones here and probably willing to do it. plus, you'll make up with this kiss."

"i-whatever, let's just get it over with i guess." changmin muttered, finally shifting his gaze to the given mint now placed in chanhee's hands. juyeon and kevin moved beside each other, tensing up as they watched the two hesitantly get closer.

chanhee took a deep breath, shuffling towards changmin who was sitting cross legged. he glanced up to find changmin's eyes and whispered, asking if he was comfortable with the whole dare. after a shrug admitting from him, chanhee rolled his eyes and kneeled down on the ground, delicately placing the candy on his tongue. "ready when you are." he heard.

chanhee gently placed a hand on changmin's jaw, leaning in and meeting lips with the latter.

the two boys used to be the closest out of the whole friend group, they practically grew up together side by side. if you needed chanhee, find changmin. needed changmin? find chanhee. they were inseparable.

the summer before the last year of middle school was their breaking point. on a sunny, saturday morning, chanhee admitted to changmin he was gay. changmin didn't think too much of it, he just nodded and asked a few questions regarding chanhee's comfortableness.

they didn't think about it too much and the two carried on being best friends as if nothing happened. sooner or later, chanhee started wearing skirts and makeup which again, changmin didn't mind, he even helped him buy some accessories for chanhee.

throughout the year he brushed off any comments about chanhee's feminine looks, sometimes even punching the bullies that talked behind their backs. he continued to hang out with the others as if he didn't hear anything in the first place.

it was on a cold, wednesday night when changmin and chanhee were having a sleepover. they invited juyeon and kevin but they couldn't make it tonight, so it just left the duo.

the two best friends lay down on their backs on chanhee's balcony, staring up at the bright stars watching over them. they gazed as a comfortable silence washed over the two.

"changmin, i like this guy." chanhee whispered. changmin smiled and hummed, eyes closing, slowly drifting into sleep, "but he's straight. i've known him for a while now and he really accepts me for who i am. it sucks, really sucks because i just know he wouldn't be into me, let alone into guys."

"just tell him, he's probably not going to the same high school as you."

"true. i-uh-i—t-thanks minnie."

"for what? i didn't really do anything."

"i know it's just, well, i hope this doesn't affect our friendship or anything."

changmin, utterly confused, squinted his eyebrows at chanhee and shrugged. he'll ask him later.

chanhee's self confidence slowly dropped overtime, prolonging his confession to the boy. as each day passed, he found himself falling for him even harder, though it was practically killing him inside. he had to watch changmin ramble on endlessly about girls he thought were pretty, hoping chanhee would befriend them and hook them up with changmin.

he envied the way girls could easily come up and flirt with the male, not having to worry about the stares or bullying that came with it. he imagined that one day he'd be holding changmin's hand, whispering sweet nothings in his ear as people couldn't give a living shit as to what they were doing. he wished to be the one changmin talked about to his friends, showing chanhee off as the best relationship he's ever had. chanhee just wished he would one day tell him that he loves chanhee in the way chanhee loves changmin.

when changmin started to stop talking about girls and rejected them when they asked him out, chanhee tried not to get his hopes up to the thought that he had a slight chance. he started to be less subtle about the flirting, attempting to make changmin notice him in a different way.

he didn't. he was as dense as ever. eventually, chanhee got fed up with the unrequited feelings and regretfully blurted it out. "ji changmin why can't you see what you do to me?"

"i-what?"

"i hate you. i hate you so much," chanhee whispered, "why do you keep leading me on just for me to realize you never liked me all along?"

changmin stood speechless. his shoulder slumped as his gaze dropped to the floor. "chanhee im so—"

"don't apologize, it's not your fault anyways. it's just my dumbass thinking i'd actually have a chance."

"b-but you know that i like girls, how could you fall in love me?"

"i don't know, okay? i just...i just did and i couldn't get you off my mind and i realized how much you mean to me and ugh this is why i told you i didn't want our friendship to be affected!"

changmin stepped back from chanhee, slightly raising his hands out in front of him. "this is happening too quickly right now, i-i don't know what say." he mumbled, "look chanhee, i'm sorry but i just— i was okay with you liking guys and all, even though i was uncomfortable at first, but now it's just too much— i-i can't be friends with a boy who likes me, things just wont be the same and it'll be really awkward, especially because you're my best friend! i'm sorry i—"

"ji changmin, are you really gonna throw out our ten years together out the door because of this? i'm still the same person, changmin. please."

without saying another word, changmin slowly started retreating back as if chanhee was a disease. his small steps turned into giant sprints, racing to get away.

the next day, chanhee was exhausted, yet still managed to attended school. his head was low, watching his feet align with the old tiled floor. he felt stares on him, already whispering and laughing as he passed by them in the halls.

chanhee's blood ran cold seeing his locker vandalized with absurd names and drawings printed on the outside. his finger ran down the metal, tracing each derogatory word as tears welled up in his eyes creating a blur to his vision. he heard laughter surrounding him, clogging up his ears as he opened his locker to retrieve his books. luckily there was no surprises waiting for him inside, so he quickly gathered his things and slammed the locker shut, not daring to face it again.

the male rounded a corner and bumped into a body, squeaking as he did so. he peered up to be met with changmin, wide eyed and opening his mouth to say something before closing it right back.

"changmin, lets go. don't waste your time talking to the fag." someone called out. chanhee whipped his head around before his breath hitched, seeing juyeon smirking right back at him. changmin bumped his shoulder as he walked past, walking away with juyeon and a group of boys chanhee didn't know.

chanhee officially had no one by his side who could love and accept him. not even himself.

changmin sucked on chanhee's tongue in his mouth, transferring the mint. he gently placed his hands on chanhee's hips, leaning into his touch from the fingers tracing his jawline. a small whimper emitting from him made changmin groan into the kiss, enjoying it more than he expected.

both kevin and juyeon were now awkwardly glancing around the library, avoiding the scene in front of them. they honestly didn't know where the mint was, nor did they want to. "um okay uh guys, i think the mint is gone you guys— guys stop i—"

chanhee pulled back, making a popping noise from their disconnected mouths as changmin tried to chase him, already missing the warmth. "well that was fun, what time is it?" chanhee asked, patting his shoulder.

kevin quickly checked the clock on the wall. "almost two thirty pm, detention ends in a thirty minutes. what did you guys wanna do?"

"let's get changmin to choose a truth."

changmin glared at juyeon as he fixed his tousled hair, "it was just my turn."

"so? we got a lot of questions unanswered, we're not gonna wait three more rounds until it's yours again."

"no, this is so cheesy!"

"c'mon, it's like a sharing circle, we all like guys, don't be worried!"

"no, shut up! i'm not fucking gay!" 

"oh here we go, here's the first question."

"shut up!" changmin yelled. the boys flinched back in shock, amusement lining their lips, "look my last four years weren't like any of yours, okay? there's nothing to talk about. i didn't go through a tragic breakup or a gay awakening, i didn't meet some guy and create a future plan with him, i didn't have to go through family troubles, i was just there."

"just there?"

"yeah and it sounds fucking lame and none of you get it but it feels like i'm just...here, i'm just living. i lost all motivation to peruse anything, i don't have anything in the past to determine my future, i'm just living in the present doing absolutely nothing. and the thing is that i don't _want_ to do anything about it."

”don't necessarily _hate_ myself, but i'm just so unsatisfied. it's the feeling of possible improvement but no motivation whatsoever. i _could_ start something, change anything, do anything, but i don't. i always ask myself the same question as to why i don't try anything new but i never have an answer to that either. i just feel so numb."

changmin coldly laughed, shaking his head, "i'm just another person out of the seven billion people living on this earth. i'm nothing special, i'm nothing new. i wake up every morning not wanting to be me."

"you're special to me," kevin whispered as he grabbed changmin's hand. a comforting smile plastered on his face as he felt chanhee's hand intertwine with his free one. they looked from one another before glancing at juyeon, fiddling with his fingers.

"i guess we all just had a shitty life without each other huh?" juyeon joked, accepting it and taking chanhee's hand, creating a full circle of hand holding. "this is cheesy." he muttered.

they chuckled as a group, feeling the comfort in the room. "i'm sorry," changmin's voice was quiet, just loud enough for the boys to hear, "for being scared. i was young, i didn't know what to do. i'm sorry, especially to chanhee, for spreading everything around the school and basically giving you hell."

chanhee's lips curled up into a smile, sighing with laughter. he forgave him before apologizing himself. the two other boys quickly followed up after, both complaining about cheesiness and apologizing.

the four boys sat in comfortable silence with their hands intertwined. they were home.

"we should probably clean up and get down before principal catches us." juyeon brought up. they nodded and hastily cleaned up the remains and scraps left on the floor. one by one they headed down the steps and threw away their garbage in the bin near the entrance.

after kevin yelled, "three pm!" they raced to their seats with smiles dancing on their faces, acting as if nothing happened. the door swung open just in time, revealing their principal with tired eyes.

"glad to see all of you well behaved. i hope to see none of you back here again and to be following rules, all clear?" a series of nods and impatient tapping replied back to the question. "well if that's all, i'll see you tomorrow in school, bright and early! you're all dismissed."

the boys eagerly stood up and tucked in their chairs, practically flying out of the school. they stood outside the parking lot, not knowing how to depart. "well, that was definitely not what i had in mind today, but i guess i'm glad it happened?" changmin chuckled, "does anyone want a ride home? i only see my car here."

juyeon took a deep breath and shook his head. "i'll pass, i need to find my happiness again, i already know where he is."

"YOU GET YOUR MAN!" kevin cheered as juyeon snorted. "i have practice with jacob, so i can walk. i'll see you guys tomorrow though!"

kevin opened his arms for hugs and wrapped his arms around chanhee and changmin, embracing them with a huge smile before hugging juyeon who awkwardly pat his back in return. the two boys walked off, waving their goodbyes to the other friends.

watching them walk off, changmin turned to chanhee, smile growing. "do you have a ride, princess?"

chanhee rolled his eyes playfully, letting his arms fall to his side. "no, i actually don't. are you suggesting something here?"

"maybe.." he trailed off, grabbing chanhee's hand. "i should've never ran off and left you alone, i know i've apologized a lot but i feel like i'm never going to forgive myself."

"hey look," chanhee whispered, lifting up changmin’s chin with his index finger, "it's in the past, okay? you're here, i'm here, _we're_ here." he kissed the latter's cheek, gently placing a hand on changmin's jaw. "now, shall we go and make up for lost time?"

"i like the sound of that."

-

on monday morning, changmin laughed as he hopped out of his beat up van. he poked his head inside before closing the door and calling out, "you guys comin or what?"

as he watched three boys excitedly jump out the vehicle, changmin smiled to himself, realizing he had found the missing piece to their puzzle.

**Author's Note:**

> so cheesy lmao


End file.
